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Hi Friend,

This week we've got a new briefing paper for you, an update on that Ngāi Tahu story, Porirua as our Ratepayer Heroes, and more.

Friend, this is How to Cap Rates Now 🧢📘

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Back in June, we launched the Cap Rates Now campaign and more than 31,000 ratepayers answered the call and signed up to support the campaign <[link removed]>. Since then, the campaign has snowballed. So if you're someone who has shared social media posts, put up a "Cap Rates Now" roadside banner, or joined us in protest outside the Local Government New Zealand conference, (where Local Government Minister Simon Watts promised a rates cap by Christmas) thank you for your support.

And, fast forward to this week: Minister Watts and Minister Chris Bishop announced a major change to local government (more on that below) but it wasn’t the rates cap we were promised. The clock’s ticking, and with 34% average rates rises over the last three years, we need action now.

Our team has been working behind the scenes, meeting with Minister Watts and many others to push for the changes we need. And this week we released How to Cap Rates Now – our policy briefing paper that outlines exactly how the Minister can keep his promise and cap rates before next year’s budget. <[link removed]>

In short, ratepayers need:

✅ Capping rates before councils set their 2026/27 budgets

✅ Making sure the rates cap covers all local government revenue (no sneaky fees and workarounds!)

✅ Linking the cap to day-to-day inflation but accounting for population growth

✅ Ensuring ratepayers have the final say, not bureaucrats

✅ Refunding any oversized rates bills (over and above the caps) directly to ratepayers

Minister Watts’ time is running out. Our briefing paper lays out the steps to make sure rates are capped fairly and effectively. You can read the paper here. <[link removed]>

Christchurch’s $1.36m “Consultation” Loop 🚨



As the team exposed this week, Christchurch City Council has spent $1.36 million paying a Ngāi Tahu-owned consultancy to advise the Council on how to engage with… Ngāi Tahu.

I don’t need to be an accountant to see the problem there...

Ratepayers are effectively being charged so the Council can be told how to talk to the very same groups that own the consultancy. No tendering, no transparency, and so far, no acceptance from the Council that they need to release the invoices.

It’s a cosy arrangement that needs transparency.

Yesterday I joined The Platform to push the Council for answers <[link removed]>.

And, if this is happening in Christchurch, could it also be happening elsewhere? Our confidential tip-line is always open... <[link removed]>

<[link removed]>Sunlight really is the disinfectant here, and your tips are often how we get onto these rorts waste stories.

A fine line between fair road charges and unfair new taxes 🚘

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Austin, my favourite (our only!) Policy Analyst, wrote this great piece in The Post about the Government's new road charging reforms <[link removed]>.

New Zealand is about to enter a new era of road charging with congestion pricing and expanded tolling powers, but as Austin points out, these reforms will only be fair if two key principles are followed: (1) congestion charges must be revenue-neutral, and (2) tolls must remain user-pays.

👉 Read Austin’s op-ed over on The Post. <[link removed]> 👈

Congestion pricing has proven successful overseas in managing demand (i.e. reducing traffic at peak times) and therefore boosting productivity. But it’s important that any money raised is used to offset other road user charges, not to create an additional financial burden on drivers.

On the other hand, tolling works when it's clear drivers pay for what they use. However, the Government's new Parliamentary Bill threatens to stretch this principle by charging drivers for roads they don't use or have already paid for through fuel taxes. It lets the Government clip the ticket twice and use a toll on roadway X to fund maintenance of roadway Y. 

We say that asking drivers to pay twice, and funnelling toll road money away from the roads being tolled is just a sneaky way to raise taxes, not improve infrastructure.

Labour’s promise of *free* taxpayer funded GP policy isn’t even backed by Labour voters 🤦‍♀️



Our latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia polllanded in The Post this week, and the results are awkward for Chris  <[link removed]> Hipkins <[link removed]>.

A clear majority of Labour voters (57 percent) say GP subsidies should be targeted to low- and middle-income New Zealanders, not handed out universally to every adult regardless of income. Only 35 percent backed Labour’s universal free-GP plan.

Younger voters and Auckland lean more universal, but everywhere else — especially Wellington — the public want health funding aimed where it actually makes a difference.

Hardly surprising when long waits and GP shortages are the reality for so many.

The kicker? Labour’s own supporters also reject the idea of taxing capital gains that is simply inflation. Nearly seven in ten say any capital gains tax must apply only to real gains, not phantom (nominal) increases.

As an MP commented to me this week, "One more poll til Christmas!"🎄

No more hidden spending – let’s Open the Books! 💥

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This week Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s expenses back under the microscope <[link removed]>, and once again, we’re reminded that MPs are able to hide their spending from the public – unlike Ministers or most Government agencies. 

Friend, I was amazed when I got to New Zealand and realised MPs' expenses aren’t subject to the Official Information Act, so they’re free to mark their own homework.

If MPs want to prove they’re truly accountable to taxpayers, they need to close this loophole and bring their spending out of the shadows.

MPs should face the same transparency standards as Ministers. We already know how this works in other countries like the UK, where – after a series of massive scandals over what, exactly, MPs were spending money on – full disclosure of expenses is now the norm. Why should New Zealand be different?

Want MPs to stop hiding behind closed doors? Head over to OpenTheBooks.nz <[link removed]> and add your name to our petition to make full transparency the rule, not the exception.

✍️ Sign the petition to force MPs to Open the Books. <[link removed]>

This week's Ratepayer Hero is whoever organised Porirua City Council’s swearing-in 🎂🦸‍♀️



Checking up on how councils spend ratepayer money is always insightful, and with the swearing-in of all new councillors now complete, the comparison between Porirua and Wellington City Council’s swearing-in ceremonies is a perfect example of how to (and how not to) use ratepayer funds.

Porirua City Council held its swearing-in ceremony and spent less than one-fifth of what Wellington City Council forked out for theirs. In fact, Porirua’s entire event cost less than Wellington's catering budget alone – making them this week’s Ratepayer Heroes.

While Wellington decided to roll out the red carpet (and a hefty price tag), Porirua kept it simple, showing that you don’t need to blow the budget to hold a dignified event.

Friend, this is a classic case of what we’re always advocating against. Why should one council spend frivolously when another is getting the same result for a fraction of the cost?

It shouldn’t be too much to ask to hold every council to the same standards.

Have a great weekend ☺️

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Tory Relf
Head of Comms
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union


In the Media:

The PostLabour’s universal free GP policy faces workforce warning <[link removed]>

The PlatformTory Relf - Taxpayers Union Comms Chief On Ngai Tahu Grift <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldLuxon’s KiwiSaver move is good, now raise the Super age – Matthew Hooton <[link removed]>

The PostLabour voters back targeted GP subsidies, poll shows <[link removed]>

LG MagazineCuisine tourism controversy <[link removed]>

RNZThe Whip 26 November 2025 <[link removed]>

StuffLive: OCR has final cut to end the year, and before the new Reserve Bank Governor begins <[link removed]>

RNZReport says WCC could save millions as job cuts questioned <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldFancy a CGT with your sausage and tomato sauce this summer? – Editorial <[link removed]>

RNZLocal government reforms: Need for local voices stressed <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBNews Fix: Afternoon Edition, 25 November 2025 <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldPrime Minister’s office moves to clarify Christopher Luxon comment on concern over National MPs’ futures <[link removed]>

StuffTo coup or not to coup - Luxon insists that is not the question <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBThe Huddle: Why are we all fed up with Air New Zealand? <[link removed]>

The PlatformDavid Farrar - The Parliamentary Overhang, Polls May Underestimate Centre-Right Voting Strength <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBNews Fix: Afternoon Edition, 24 November 2025 <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBHeather du Plessis-Allan Drive: Full Show Podcast, 24 November 2025 <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBThomas Coughlan: NZ Herald political editor on the Government's proposed changes to KiwiSaver <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldCapital gains tax poll reveals option with most support: How it differs from Labour policy <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldTauranga City councillor pay rises: Why they earn $163k for a ‘part-time’ job <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBNews Fix: Afternoon Edition, 22 November 2025 <[link removed]>

The PostThe fine line between fair road charges and unfair new taxes <[link removed]>

Chris Lynch MediaMayor says he supports releasing details behind $1.36 million Council spend on Māori consultancy <[link removed]>

NewsroomWatch out for Winston – the man set to gain from his partner’s poor polling <[link removed]>



New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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